Apparatus for vertical screening

Abstract

A computer tomography (CT) imaging system is disclosed. The CT imaging system includes a rotatable gantry and a lift. The rotatable gantry forms a bore defining an examination region. The rotatable gantry is oriented with a central axis thereof in a substantially vertical direction and is configured to scan one or more objects in a substantially horizontal plane. The lift is aligned with an opening of the examination region. At least a portion of the lift is sized to fit within the examination region and is configured to move the one or more objects into the examination region.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer tomography (CT) imaging system, comprising:
 a rotatable gantry forming a bore defining an examination region, the rotatable gantry oriented with a central axis thereof in a substantially vertical direction and configured to scan one or more objects in a substantially horizontal plane;   a lift aligned with an opening of the examination region, at least a portion of the lift sized to fit within the examination region and configured to move the one or more objects into the examination region; and   one or more vertical bearings configured to rotationally support the rotatable gantry in the substantially vertical direction relative to the central axis and to support the weight of the rotatable gantry.   
     
     
         2 . The CT imaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the lift is positioned below the rotatable gantry and is configured to raise the one or more objects up into the examination region of the rotatable gantry. 
     
     
         3 . The CT imaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the lift includes a conveyor system configured to position the one or more objects thereon prior to a scanning process and is configured to transport the one or more objects off of the lift after the scanning process is complete. 
     
     
         4 . The CT imaging system of  claim 1 , wherein portions of the lift are received within the examination region and at least the portions of the lift received within the examination region include material transparent to radiation. 
     
     
         5 . The CT imaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the lift is configured to move the one or more objects in the substantially vertical direction relative to one or more radiation sources mounted on the rotatable gantry between measurement intervals of a scanning process. 
     
     
         6 . The CT imaging system of  claim 1 , further comprising a frame configured to rotatably support the rotatable gantry while maintaining a vertical position of the rotatable gantry. 
     
     
         7 . The CT imaging system of  claim 6 , wherein the frame includes legs configured to support the rotatable gantry in an elevated position above the lift. 
     
     
         8 . The CT imaging system of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more vertical bearings are positioned between the frame and the rotatable gantry and configured to facilitate rotation of the rotatable gantry about the central axis relative to the frame. 
     
     
         9 . The CT imaging system of  claim 8 , further comprising one or more horizontal bearings configured to maintain a substantially concentric rotation of the rotatable gantry about the central axis. 
     
     
         10 . A computer tomography (CT) imaging system, comprising:
 a rotatable gantry forming a bore defining an examination region, the rotatable gantry oriented with a central axis thereof in a substantially vertical direction and configured to scan one or more objects in a substantially horizontal plane;   a stationary support frame configured to support the rotatable gantry in a translationally fixed position; and   one or more thrust bearings positioned between the stationary support frame and the rotatable gantry configured to support the weight of the rotatable gantry and facilitate rotation of the rotatable gantry about the central axis relative to the stationary support frame.   
     
     
         11 . The CT imaging system of  claim 10 , further comprising an object translation system including a lift configured to move the one or more objects in the substantially vertical direction into the examination region and a conveyor configured to move the one or more objects to and from the lift. 
     
     
         12 . The CT imaging system of  claim 11 , wherein the stationary support frame includes legs configured to support the rotatable gantry in an elevated position above the object translation system. 
     
     
         13 . The CT imaging system of  claim 12 , wherein the lift is positioned below the rotatable gantry and is configured to raise the one or more objects up into the examination region of the rotatable gantry. 
     
     
         14 . The CT imaging system of  claim 10 , further comprising one or more radial bearings configured to maintain a substantially concentric rotation of the rotatable gantry about the central axis. 
     
     
         15 . The CT imaging system of  claim 14 , wherein each of the one or more thrust bearings and the one or more radial bearings includes wheel bearings. 
     
     
         16 . A method for scanning one or more objects with a computer tomography (CT) imaging system, comprising:
 vertically aligning one or more objects within an examination region defined by a rotatable gantry of the CT imaging system, the rotatable gantry oriented with a central axis thereof in a substantially vertical direction and the CT imaging system including one or more vertical bearings configured to rotationally support the rotatable gantry in the substantially vertical direction relative to the central axis and to support the weight of the rotatable gantry;   vertically translating the one or more objects into the examination region using a lift aligned with the examination region; and   scanning the one or more objects within the examination region utilizing one or more radiation sources mounted on the rotatable gantry while rotating the rotatable gantry relative to the central axis oriented in the substantially vertical direction.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein scanning the one or more objects includes capturing images of the one or more objects in measurement intervals and vertically moving the lift relative to the one or more radiation sources between the measurement intervals. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the CT imaging system includes a stationary support frame configured to support the rotatable gantry in a translationally fixed position. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the stationary support frame includes legs configured to support the rotatable gantry in an elevated position above the lift, and wherein vertically translating the one or more objects into the examination region using a lift aligned with the examination region includes elevating the one or more objects with the lift. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein scanning the one or more objects within the examination region utilizing one or more radiation sources mounted on the rotatable gantry is performed by a mode selected from among: scanning in a first rotational direction during rotation of the rotatable gantry at one energy and one rotational speed; rescanning in a second rotational direction (opposite the first rotational direction) at a different energy than the one energy; scanning at a fixed vertical location of the one or more objects in response to one of a location selected by an operator of the CT imaging system, a detected anomaly at the location, and a detected threat at the location; and scanning the one or more objects with the rotatable gantry stationary and in a known angular position to produce a high resolution image of the one or more objects.